Shop Owner Sues Over Removal Of Blank Sign

April 11, 1986|By Mark Andrews of The Sentinel Staff

LONGWOOD — A sign is not a sign unless it says something. So says Clarence ''Red'' Fisher, who contends that a portable sign without lettering illegally was taken by the city from in front of his television repair shop.

Fisher's lawsuit against the city demanding the return of his sign and compensation for its removal prompted the city attorney to withhold a scheduled ruling this week on whether a 1983 federal court ruling in an Orlando case voids provisions of Longwood's sign ordinance.

That left merchants all over the city in the dark about their rights to use trailer signs to advertise their services and products. Business owners had contended that the court decision prevents Longwood from forcing the removal of portable signs after 60 days or from restricting their distance from each other on private property.

The city, however, says it will continue to enforce the measure.

Fisher, owner of Red's TV on U.S. Highway 17-92, agrees with those positions, but said his complaint against the city goes deeper. His lawsuit in Seminole County Court accuses police Officer Ed Rossi of illegally ordering city workers onto private property to remove his trailer sign without due process of the law.

Fisher said he was told by the city Feb. 3 that he must remove his sign and could not get a renewal of his 60-day sign permit because Longwood's ordinance requires temporary signs to be just that -- temporary.

Two days later, Fisher removed the letters from his sign, but was told by city hall that taking the letters off ''was not good enough.'' In order to avoid more problems, he said he laid the sign down flat next to the highway. He took photographs of the blank sign lying down to prove his point.

On Feb. 10, Fisher said the city ''surreptitiously, with vindictiveness'' removed the sign. He said the sign's removal and officials' refusal to return it amounts to an unconstitutional seizing of property without due process of the law.

Fisher said he doesn't have the resources to try to overturn the city's ordinance. His suit in the county court's summary claims division, which he is pursuing without the help of a lawyer, asks $2,500 in damages for the removal of his sign.